Disney Turns "Princess And The Frog" Merchandise Into Big Business

“The Princess and the Frog” is not just Walt Disney’s newest animated film, it’s also Disney’s latest marketing campaign.

With the movie opening on Friday, Disney has already spent weeks promoting, marketing and selling hundreds of film-inspired merchandise products just in time for the holidays.

From dolls to cookbooks to shampoo to bedding to jewelry to video games, Disney is working hard to saturate the market with more than 1,000 items.

“This is such an historic event for us. We are so excited about this. It’s exciting to be able to make good, inspired products from this event,” said Sheila Ullery, vice president of marketing for Disney Consumer Products. “‘The Princess and the Frog’ is a global opportunity for us on the consumer product side.”

The effort appears to be paying off for Disney. The company says it’s already begun out-selling previous Disney princess items by double-digit percentages. People are buying the items from Disney stores, DisneyStore.com and retailers nationwide, which is fueling the demand, according to Disney.